REGIONAL Victoria was one of only four property markets nationally to record a decline in home values for the first month of the Spring selling season.
According to property analysis company PropTrack, homes in regional Victoria declined 0.21 per cent in value in September, 0.88 per cent in the last quarter and 2.88 per cent over the past year.
In north west Victoria, values didn’t decline as drastically, but a drop of 0.51 per cent was recorded for the quarter and 0.64 per cent over the past year.
PropTrack said nationally, home prices moved higher in September as the Spring selling season bloomed.
It said the combined value of the country’s capital city homes had now recovered from the significant decreases of 2022, setting a fresh record high in September.
However, regional markets still remained down 0.78 per cent from their April 2022 peak, despite prices holding up better for much of last year.
REA Senior economist Eleanor Creagh said overall, regional areas had not seen the same strength in recovery as the capital city markets.
“Prices in most regional areas have continued to fall for much of this year, with the exception of regional SA and Queensland,” she said.
“Regional Victoria remains the weakest performing regional market when comparing annual price growth and the change from peak.”
Ms Creagh said this came as the elevated levels of demand seen throughout the pandemic period eased back to more average levels, and supply on market normalised.
“As the number of properties listed for sale has increased, the competitive conditions experienced throughout the pandemic, when buyers searching in regional Victoria faced incredibly limited options, have eased,” she said.
“This is particularly the case with home buying demand also falling from the elevated levels seen throughout the pandemic.”
Ms Creagh said home price growth in the capital cities had been driven by record levels of net overseas migration, tight rental markets and the housing shortage.
“While a sharp increase in the number of properties hitting the market in Sydney and Melbourne has been improving choice for buyers, strong demand has seen prices continue to lift,” she said.
She said looking ahead, interest rates had likely peaked and population growth was rebounding strongly.
“Together with a shortage of new home builds, prices are expected to rise,” she said.
“As we head further into spring, more markets are likely to reclaim 2022’s fast falls to set new peaks.”
